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November 1, 2006

Alar Dangers and Other Superstitions, Fifteen Years Later

By Molly Lee

"The ultimate decider in all controversial matters must be the data in a well-run experiment."  This statement by ACSH colleague and editor of the renowned journal Science, Dr. Daniel Koshland is as relevant today as it was fifteen years ago today when he published it in a Science editorial calling for more credibility and accountability in the media.  

His editorial was a response to the Alar controversy, a much-hyped and completely unfounded scare involving the apple growth regulator Alar, which was used to delay ripening.  Certain environmental activist organizations had demanded a ban on Alar, claiming it caused cancer.  These claims were never proven.  The activists and their enablers in the media not only cost America's apple farmers millions of dollars but caused widespread, unnecessary alarm among apple lovers.

What is most troubling about this fifteen-year anniversary is that environmental activists continue to alarm the public about numerous chemicals and other environmental exposures that have not been shown to cause harm to human health.  The media echoes the fears.  

In a recent example, alarmists have warned against eating fish for fear of trace levels of mercury.  Yet a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that eating one to two servings of fish per week decreased cardiovascular risk by 36%.  There has also been controversy regarding PCBs in the environment.  Again, the claim that PCBs in salmon, like mercury in tuna, causes cancer in humans has no basis in scientific evidence and might cause people to cut fish from their diets.  Most of these claims are based on high-dose animal studies and have little relevance to human health.

The pattern Dr. Koshland wrote about fifteen years ago continues to be a problem for consumers and scientists today. Public health policy with regards to environmental exposures like Alar, mercury, and PCBs should be formulated based on sound scientific evidence, not on media and activist hype.

See also our publications on the following:

Mercury: http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1179/pub_detail.asp
PCBs: http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1030/pub_detail.asp
Traces of Environmental Chemicals: http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.195/pub_detail.asp


Molly Lee is the Earhart Research Intern at the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH.org, HealthFactsAndFears.com).


Drawing of Todd Seavey


About the Editor:
Todd Seavey

is Director of Publications at ACSH and edits FactsAndFears.  His opinions are not necessarily ACSH's.

He can be reached at seavey [at] acsh.org.
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Founded in 1978, ACSH is a consumer advocacy organization directed and advised by over 350 physicians, scientists and policy advisors. ACSH promotes the use of sound, peer-reviewed science in the formation of a full  spectrum of  public health policies, including those related to food, pharmaceuticals, environmental chemicals, lifestyle factors, consumer products and terrorism preparedness and response.